DETROIT, MI - Longtime person of interest Robert “Bob” Bashara is charged with first-degree murder stemming from the strangulation death of his wife, Jane Bashara.

The charge carries a mandatory life sentence in Michigan.

“We do not operate by the media worthiness of a case,” said Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, explaining why it took a year and three months for 55-year-old Bob Bashara to be charged.

The case involved a six-state, 300-witness investigation and over 5,000 pages in documents, which added to the lapse of time between the killing and the issuing of charges. Worthy did not have an estimated cost of the investigation that involved 15 agencies.

Worthy said everything will come out in the preliminary examination and wouldn’t discuss whether there is DNA evidence or how Jane Bashara’s family responded to the news.

She would not discuss motive and called it a “different” case based on the size and scope of the investigation.

“I’m going to keep my opinions about him to myself,” said Worthy when asked about her interpretation of Bashara’s character. “He was always a person of interest.”

Bashara urged witnesses to lie to investigators and asked one to move out of state to avoid questioning, Worthy said.

Witnesses in the case were located throughout the country.

Bashara is also accused of conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation of murder, suborning of perjury, witness intimidation and obstruction of justice.

The murder mystery began when Detroit police discovered 56-year-old Jane Bashara’s body in the back of her black Mercedes SUV on Jan. 25, 2012. The SUV had been abandoned in a Detroit alley near the 19400 block of Annott, several miles from the marketing executive’s upscale Grosse Pointe Park home.

Bob Bashara reported his wife missing 11:35 p.m. the previous night.

On Jan. 31, Gentz entered the Grosse Pointe Police Department and admitted to the killing. Grosse Pointe Park police said Gentz told them Bob Bashara paid him to do it, but he was released after 72 hours due to lack of prosecutable evidence.

He was officially charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder on March 2.

Bob Bashara’s involvement has been suspected since the beginning,

Gentz, 49, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the killing and is currently imprisoned at the Macomb Correctional Facility serving a minimum of 17 years.

“Our family feels very strongly that this is not over with the sentencing of Mr. Gentz,” Jane Bashara’s sister Julie Rowe said in an emotional statement during Gentz’s sentencing. “Our healing will begin when the whole truth is known and all who were involved are held responsible.”

Bob Bashara, currently housed at Oaks Correctional Facility in Manistee, is serving greater than six years in prison after he pleaded guilty to attempting to hire a hit-man to kill Gentz in Jail while he awaited trial.

Prosecutors say Bashara, a property investor and landlord with greater than $4 million in assets, began looking for a way to quiet his former handyman before Gentz had a change to talk.

Worthy announced the charges with 20 other law enforcement officials and prosecutors at her side.

She revealed little about the case and deflected most questions from reporters, stating the answers would be revealed in court.

“This case is one we don’t often experience in Grosse Pointe Park,” said Grosse Pointe Park Public Safety Director David Hiller in a prepared statement. “The charging of Bob Bashara means there will finally be justice for Jane Bashara and her family.”